| City of license | Bridgeport, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Slogan | "Sharing God's Good News All Around Your World" |
| Frequency | 1480 AM (kHz) |
| First air date | 1961 |
| Format | Christian |
| Power | 1000 watts (day) 39 watts (night) |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 57794 |
| Callsign meaning | GN = "Good News" |
| Former callsigns | WBTS (1961-1998) WKEA (1998-2001) WYMR (2001-2007)[1] |
| Owner | MG Media, Inc. |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | http://www.wgnq.net/ |
WGNQ (1480 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Bridgeport, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by MG Media, Inc. It broadcasts a Christian radio format including Southern Gospel music.[2]
On April 15, 1998, longtime-owner of Bridgeport Broadcasting Company, the licensee for this station, then known as WBTS, Roy C. McCloud died.[3] In June 1998, control of the company passed involuntarily to Remal J. McCloud and Darren W. McCloud, the joint executors of his estate.[4] The Federal Communications Commission approved the transfer on July 9, 1998, and the transaction was formally consummated on August 10, 1998.[4]
In July 1998, KEA Radio Inc. (Ronald H. Livengood, president) reached an agreement to acquire WBTS from Remal J. McCloud and Darren W. McCloud.[5] The station sold for a reported $5,000.[6] The deal was approved by the FCC on October 20, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on November 2, 1998.[5] Under the new ownership, this station changed its call letters to WKEA on November 13, 1998.[1]
The WKEA call letters were chosen to match co-owned WKEA-FM in nearby Scottsboro, Alabama. In 2001, in preparation for the sale of this AM station, WKEA's owners petitioned the FCC for new call letters and the station was assigned WYMR on February 13, 2001.[1]
In December 2001, Dade County Broadcasting (Evan E. Stone, president) reached an agreement to purchase WYMR from KEA Radio Inc. (Ronald Livengood, president) for a reported sale price of $36,000.[7] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 18, 2002, and the transaction was consummated on January 31, 2002.[8] At the time of the sale, the station broadcast an adult standards music format.[7]
In April 2003, Stone Collins Communications Inc. (William J. Lord, VP) reached an agreement to purchase WYMR from Dade County Broadcasting Inc. (Evan E. Stone, president/director) for a reported sale price of $45,000.[9] The deal was approved by the FCC on July 31, 2003, but the transaction was never consummated and the station's license remained with Dade County Broadcasting.[10]
In June 2005, MG Media Inc. (Marvin Glass, owner) reached an agreement to purchase WYMR from Dade County Broadcasting Inc.[11] The deal was approved by the FCC on September 23, 2005, and the transaction was consummated on September 29, 2005.[11]
The station was assigned the WGNQ call letters by the FCC on November 13, 2007.[1]